FED Zarya1958

History

The FED factory's rangefinder line ran from the FED-1 (1934, a Leica II copy) through the FED-2 (1955), FED-3, FED-4, and FED-5. The Zarya was a parallel simplified variant produced around 1958-1961, concurrent with the FED-2. It represents a cost-reduction exercise: the rangefinder mechanism is the most complex and expensive part of a rangefinder body, and removing it allowed LOMO to produce an M39-mount camera at lower cost for buyers who either could not justify the rangefinder premium or were experienced enough to shoot competently at scale focus.

The Zarya is distinct from the FED-1 (which also lacked a rangefinder) in that the FED-1 was a bottom-loading design based on the original Leica II configuration. The Zarya uses the more modern FED-2 body with its hinged back, combined with the simplified viewfinder of a scale-focus body. Production was limited relative to the FED-2, and the Zarya is substantially rarer.

Why It Matters

The FED Zarya is an M39 body for photographers who prefer scale focus or who want the cheapest possible entry into the Soviet LTM ecosystem. The M39 mount accepts the full range of Soviet M39 lenses - Industar 50/3.5, Industar 61 53/2.8, Jupiter-8 50/2, Jupiter-12 35/2.8 - as well as Leica screw-mount glass and modern Voigtlander LTM lenses. The absence of a rangefinder is a functional compromise for most subjects but is irrelevant for photographers using hyperfocal scale focus, which is practical with wide or moderate apertures in good light.

The Zarya is harder to find than the FED-2 and does not offer any advantage over it as a working camera - the FED-2 is superior in every functional sense (it retains the rangefinder). The Zarya's collector interest is in its rarity and as a document of the FED factory's cost-reduction engineering.

Lenses & Accessories

Accepts all M39 / LTM lenses with 28.8mm flange distance:

• Soviet M39: Industar 50/3.5 (likely kit), Industar 61 53/2.8, Jupiter-8 50/2, Jupiter-3 50/1.5, Jupiter-12 35/2.8, Jupiter-9 85/2, Helios-103 50/1.8
• Leica LTM: Elmar, Summicron, Summilux screw-mount versions
• Modern: Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35/2.5, Nokton 50/1.5 (LTM versions)

Note: without a rangefinder, lenses faster than f/2.8 are difficult to focus accurately on static subjects and impractical on moving ones.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Used by Soviet amateur photographers in the late 1950s to early 1960s as a budget alternative to the FED-2.
• Scale-focus M39 bodies of this type were a common entry point into 35mm photography in the USSR before autofocus technology.

References

• Camera-Wiki: FED Zarya - technical summary and production notes
• Wikipedia: FED (camera) - full FED factory history and model lineage